Devices for holding eyeglasses.
There are many known devices for holding a pair of eyeglasses. Many of these are complex and costly, utilizing multiple parts. Others require a number of steps to attach and then subsequently detach the eyeglasses from the holder. Still others do not securely hold the eyeglasses so that there is a risk that the eyeglasses will too easily disengage from the holder and be lost or damaged. Still others hold the eyeglasses in a way that allows the eyeglasses to move around relative to the holder and/or allow the eyeglasses parts to move around relative to one another. There is also the problem with some holders that they have a tendency to mar or otherwise damage the eyeglasses in ordinary use. It is also often the case that the eyeglasses are held in such a way that the lenses of the eyeglasses can contact parts of the holder or the clothing of the user to smudge or harm the lenses.
The illustrated eyeglasses holder or carrier is simple and efficient to manufacture and to use. It holds the eyeglasses firmly yet gently so that they tend not to rattle around, and so that they cannot readily, inadvertently become separated from the holder.
The illustrated eyeglasses holder includes a multi-section frame that is integrally formed from a single piece of flexible, resilient material such as plastic or metal. The illustrated holder also includes a displaceable holding or retaining member which is positioned to be engaged and displaced by the eyeglasses temple bars or arms so as to limit movement and prevent inadvertent separation of the arms from the holder. The illustrated frame includes a base section and a holding section which are generally aligned with one another. The base and holding sections are connected to one another at one or a first pair of ends while a second end of one of the sections is unconnected to the other section to form an entrance. The base and holder sections are configured so as to provide a receiving space that is open at either side and accessible through the entrance. In operation, the crossed arms of a pair of eyeglasses are moved through the entrance into the receiving space. In one embodiment, the entrance is normally sufficiently small to bar the eyeglasses arms, but the base and/or control sections are sufficiently flexible and resilient to allow the entrance to be enlarged sufficiently to allow the eyeglasses arms to pass through into the receiving space. The illustrated holder is designed so that the user can readily and easily press the arms into the entrance, thereby enlarging it and allowing the arms to pass through. The entrance then can return on its closed position which tends to prevent the arms from inadvertently exiting the receiving space. When the user wants to remove the eyeglasses from the holder, she simply and easily pushes the arms back to the entrance to again enlarge the entrance and allow the arms to pass through.
The illustrated holder is normally and preferably supported with the sides generally vertical and with the entrance at the top to further limit inadvertent movement of the eyeglasses arms out of the receiving space.
The holder may conveniently be supported as on the user""s clothing. In one form, the frame has a support section which allows the holder to the clip onto the belt or waistband of the user in the desired vertical orientation.
One form of illustrated holding or retaining member is at least one elastic band mounted on the frame. The band extends in the end-to end direction it is positioned to be engaged by the eyeglasses arms, displaced and stretched. The arms thereby exert, in combination with the frame, a frictional holding force on the arms in the receiving space. This force tends to hold the arms in place, to prevent them moving about relative to one another or to the holder, and to restrict inadvertent separation of the eyeglasses from the holder. The drawings also illustrate the displaceable retainer member in the alternate form of a spring that may be either formed integrally with the remainder of the frame or a separate piece.
In one form the holder includes an internal projection that provides a partial division of the receiving space into a larger subspace for most eyeglasses and a smaller subspace for eyeglasses arms that are very thin such as those of the xe2x80x9cwirexe2x80x9d type.